Coding always goes much better and smoother with a good environment to code in. I think that a good part of creating that environment is music. Mike and I always think it is fun to crank up the Mortal Combat theme song when working on squashing an IE6 bug. Gets you all charged up to take it down! Anyways, we will start posting an album now and again of music we like to play when coding. If you have any you like please feel free to comment.
The first album is a favorite of mine. It is by Ratatat and the album is called Classics. I highly recommend it. If you get it make sure you listen for the wildcat growl.
Ratatat is dope. Make sure to check out Lex, Wildcat, Seventeen Years, El Pico, and Desert Eagle.
Gotta go with the techno on this one.
And some good ol’ Happy Hardcore really gets the blood pumping and the fingers moving. Some of my favorite compilations are:
Bonkers 12
Clubland X-treme Hardcore (2 in particular, 4 is good as well)
Hardcore Heaven 4
And you can never go wrong with trance. Some good ones there are:
In Search of Sunrise 7 – Asia (mixed by Tiesto)
Positive Energy (it’s old, but oh so good)
Breakbeats are always good as well.
And when I’m sick of the techno (which isn’t often), I’ll play some old school Modern (Depeche Mode, Cure, etc.), some Industrial (NIN, Front242, etc.), or Grunge (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc.), or some other alternative types.
I’ll also dabble in some classical or ambient type mellow stuff in the mornings when I’m trying to get my head in the mood.
I prefer fingerstyle (acoustic guitar). It helps me relax.
I’m with Ethan… anything that helps you relax and focus, or even something that gets you pumped up, can work really well. There are definitely some powerful classical composers (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Vivaldi) who work nicely, for me anyway. My playlist for coding also includes some fun Latino ones, though I’m not sure how well those would work for me if I didn’t speak Spanish and understand what they say.
I’m also a fan of the Oldies, so I can crank all day to the Beatles, Bobby Darin, Billy Joel, or even Michael Buble (who does many Oldies songs). ABBA, Simon and Garfunkel, Paul McCartney (with or without Wings), Queen, Ray Stevens, Three Dog Night, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and a dozen others round out my list.
From the more modern, stuff like U2, Weezer, the Proclaimers, Smash Mouth, Barenaked Ladies, Angels and Airwaves, Keane, Coldplay, Peter Breinholt, and sometimes even Josh Groban can work well. I also rock some 80s stuff too, like Chicago, Blues Traveler, Erasure, Oingo Boingo, Supertramp, and The Police, are fun for coding too.
Yeah, I definitely can go for some more mellow stuff sometimes (usually in the mornings).
Speaking of acoustic guitar, there is an artist named Erik Mongrain from Canadia who has some amazing tapping songs. Do a YouTube search for his name and you’ll find a few. There are some by Andy McKee that are pretty good as well.
I also really love the song “Heartbeats” covered by Jose Gonzales. I first found it on a commercial for a television here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=16778805
Awesome commercial, awesome song, good to code to.
When I’m squashing an IE6 bug I go for ‘Crawling in my Skin’ by Linkin Park. Not the finest song, but I feel it captures the mood suitably.
When I’m mad (really, really mad) I just start with Cannibal Corpse, Fear Factory or Aphex Twin (at least one of those will make you even madder).
I also like Delerium – Spheres for relaxation (an amazing ambiental album). Dead Can Dance is also fantastic (if you survive the initial contact with their style of music). For ultimate relaxation, there is also Shakti..but I don’t think it’s good for coding.
If you want to try out some really dark hardcore, try Manu Le Malin’s Fighting Spirit (not for the weak-hearted). Palindrome – Fighting Spirit is related (Manu worked with Palindrome on the album, I with there was more).
Try Tom Waits if you want a real mood creator :-)
If you like to combine classical music and some ass-kicking metal, there is Hollenthon and Bal-Sagoth. If you’re just weird, there are things like Animal Collective.
I could go on… :P
Ooops..
Errata: Palindrome – Rions Noir